11.10 // Sabbath

At least seven times in the Old Testament scriptures God commands His people to “remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.”
And if that means “remember that Sundays are wholly insane,” then I think we’re good.

The first day of the week tends to be total mayhem at our house.
Most of the time, Sundays are joyful, but I’ll be honest: they’re mayhem nonetheless. Joyful mayhem.
(And we live across the parking lot from church. We don’t even have to get a single kid in a carseat!)

There is Sunday School, music practice, and administrative work for the whole crew by 9:15.
Some days we are late or someone is still “wearing” their breakfast somewhere or there is a diaper blowout on the walk over.
(Just kidding. All of those things happened today. Its not a matter of “or".” Its “and.”)
Practices, prayer, worship service and sacrament, children’s church, clean up.
This morning, I practiced some music, taught our children’s church, and sang a response song all while wearing John Taylor in a Mobywrap. I was literally sweating by the end of the service.
And then we walk back across the parking lot and in the front door and everyone is starving.
(This can’t just be our family, right? Like, this is everyone.)
And on and on and on it goes.

As I enter examen tonight, I can’t help but wonder:
Is this how it is supposed to be? Am I even doing this “Church-Sababth-Worship-Rest” thing right?
And if not, what other choice do I really have?

When I consider those Old Testament passages on Sabbath, I think of our designated time of worship and rest—whatever days those happen to be.
In our family, those days are Sunday and Monday.
Sunday is our day of holy worship in our Christian community. Our prayer is that as we worship, we are sent out as reconciled people to be Christ in our world.
Sundays are renewed worship and renewed sending.
The whole movement is holy.
Even the going home.
Sometimes returning to the parsonage to immediate demands for play clothes or a cheese stick or repairing a dumb Happy Meal toy does’t feel very holy, but I am believing it is!

Sabbath Mondays, for our family, look like having fun and remembering and enjoying life with God and those we love. Usually we get tacos from El Borrego. Praise Him.
From there, we begin the rhythms of the week.
(For many people, this is reversed as Saturday is Sabbath, and that’s great. You get the basic idea.)

Its not always been this way. No, not even close.
I used to feel like Sundays and Mondays needed to have an altogether different rhythm: no meal planning, no laundry, no “have to do’s” for anyone. Lots of open time to reflect and play and take life slowly.
And do you know how small children interpret those open days?
Anarchy. Mutiny. Utter insanity.

When we have totally dismissed our rhythms for the sake of “sabbath,” I have also dismissed any chance of feeling present and whole.
By Monday at 2PM, I am literally running away as described here.

Sabbath does not degrade our weekday life. We have rhythms and daily structures to allow space for healing, to hear God, to make sure everyone gets what they need. It also does not imply that the days will leave us feeling totally rested. And as a mother a small children, neither day feels totally relaxing. Again, I have kids for goodness sake.

So the examen beckons:
How can I live holy today when there are still needs to be met and work to be done? How can I both practice Sabbath and perform necessary functions at home? It is even possible?

Here is what I tried today:
Less screen time: I checked my phone in the morning and the evening. Other than that, I tried to practice less noise, less commentary, less opinion. I may not be able to rest from my children’s noise, but I can rest from the blaring voices on social media— including my own!
Continued quiet time: Today we held out normal quiet time for the kids, and it is a Godsend. Since they no longer nap, it gives me (and Jackson, since he is home) 45 minutes of silence. And I believe it is good for the kids, too. I used to feel like the weekends should be fun and these limits should be only for week days. But I am beginning to see that I need them, and that is okay.
More grace for daily tasks: Today I wanted to cook butternut squash soup and make bread and apple crisp. And so I did. But I also know that if I need a break from these household tasks and the emotional labor they demand, I give myself permission to take it. We started going out to eat on Sunday or Monday to give me a break, and I am learning to really enjoy this gift.
Early bedtime: For me, for the baby, for the kids. For us all. Thus, this shorter post. I’m purposefully limiting myself tonight. Don’t worry about perfect words or impressive insight. Be true to sabbath. That is all that is asked of you.

Aaron Neiquist posted this quote today:

“We don’t come to church to find God. We come to church to find God everywhere.”

He explains that as we gather together, our individual and communal stories get us swept up in God’s universal story: “Sunday is not the main event! Our actual lives, Monday through Sunday are the main event for life with God. May everything we do on Sunday— prayer, liturgy, sacraments, community, scripture, and more— empower and propel us into loving partnerships with God all week long.”

My heart leaps at his words.
Sundays propel us into this world, to find the Sacred everywhere— not to dismiss the ordinary as secular or minimize the incarnation happening all around us.

If your Sabbath looks a lot like every other day of the week, take heart. Its okay. “Different” is not the point.
The purpose of Sabbath is to be reminded that God is embedded in every part of life: “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” as Ephesians 4 tells us.

There are times and seasons when sabbath looks like watching the Lions on the couch with close friends. Sabbath can be prayer nights at church with our faith family. At other times, Sunday nights can be getting ready for teaching angsty eighth graders the next morning. And at different points, its caring for the steady needs of those around you like all the other days of the week.

Jesus reminds us that Sabbath is for our human hearts. There is no shame in how you can practice at this given point.
Basically, you have permission to figure out living with God.
There is grace for you in practicing Sabbath and in every other way we struggle to live a “with-God- life” in this hustle and bustle world.
May we simply notice Him in every moment, resting in who He is.

Meditation for tonight:
”Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword,it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.  Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
(Hebrews 4:11-16)